Illinois Tool Works Inc.

you will have the opportunity to ask one question and if needed, one follow-up question. Thank you. Erin Linenhan, Vice President of Investor Relations, you may begin your conference.

Thank you, Krista. Good morning and welcome to ITW's first quarter 2024 conference call. Today, I'm joined by our President and CEO, Chris O'Herlihy, Senior Vice President and CFO, Michael Larson, and Vice President of Investor Relations, Karen Fletcher. During today's call, we will discuss ITW's first quarter financial results and provide an update on our outlook for full year 2024. Slide two is a reminder that this presentation contains forward-looking statements. We refer you to the company's 2023 Form 10-K and subsequent reports filed with the SEC for more detail about important risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations. This presentation uses certain non-GAAP measures and a reconciliation of those measures to the most directly comparable gap measures as contained in the press release. Please turn to slide three, and it's now my pleasure to turn the call over to our President and CEO, Chris O'Hare-Leahy.

Thank you, Erin, and good morning, everyone. While the near-term demand environment across the majority of our segments was certainly challenging as we anticipated, the ITW team delivered a solid start to the year as our first quarter results came in as expected. and we remain solidly on track to deliver on our 2024 performance targets. Starting with the top line, organic growth was down 0.6% as five of seven segments declined in the face of a tough demand environment and versus some difficult comparisons year over year. Those comparisons are more favorable for the balance of the year, and based on current levels of demand, we are confident that we will deliver on our full-year performance targets, including organic growth of 1% to 3%. The ITW team continued to execute at a very high level and delivered strong margin and profitability performance in the first quarter. Excluding a one-time inventory accounting item, quarterly operating income grew 4% as operating margin expanded 120 basis points to 25.4% with a strong contribution from enterprise initiatives of 140 basis points as we continue to make solid progress towards our goal of 30% operating margin by 2030. GAAP EPS of $2.73 increased 17%, and excluding the one-time item, we grew EPS 5% to $2.44. The free cash flow conversion rate of 68% was in line with normal Q1 levels. Looking ahead, where we did raise our GAAP EPS and margin guidance for the year to account for the one-time item, our operational guidance remains unchanged. We continue to expect that current levels of demand across the majority of our end markets and favorable year-over-year comparisons will translate to positive organic growth through the balance of the year. Combined with our continued strong margin and profitability performance, we are confident that ITW is firmly on track and well positioned to deliver on our 2024 guidance. In concluding my remarks, I want to thank all of our ITW colleagues around the world for their exceptional efforts and for their dedication to serving our customers with excellence and driving continuous progress on our path to ITW's full potential. I will now turn the call over to Michael to discuss our first quarter performance in more detail, as well as our updated full-year guidance. Michael.